1. False. With Joakim we'll always have a respectable defensive team. With Derrick Rose we can actually go places.

2. False. I love Jimmy's game and demeanor but people putting him on the level of Kawhi or Paul George are overrating him. He's a solid, solid player already and he can grow quite a bit offensively but he'll never be more than a great 3rd option.

3. I don't know. The first year it seemed that way, but it's possible Thibs wanted to get the defense in place first and upgrade the offense going forward. I'm pretty optimistic because I think we can run offense through more guys than we could back then.

4. True, BUT, only if Rose is healthy. With Rose out, Boozer was a godsend last year. If we have enough offense, Taj is a better option than Boozer.

5. Boozer has to be able to be efficient and effective with Rose on the floor at the same time. And ofcourse Rose has to stay healthy. If the defense can remain as good as it's been the last couple of years, I think we're in good shape.

1. TRUE or FALSE: Joakim Noah is more important to the Bulls success than Derrick Rose.
True. Not that rose is replaceable, but can you imagine the bulls having the same record last year without noah (or asik). There is no one on the roster who controls backbone of the entire team D like noah can. Sure, they have to adjust offensively to rose being gone, but their entire identity hinges on the rim protection of Noah IMO.

2. TRUE or FALSE: Jimmy Butler is THAT good.
that good? sure. Allstar good? no. Better than Deng? No. Hes an above average and long defender who has a fairly well rounded overall game. I do think we will see some regression this year (or at least not continued growth on the same trajectory), but hes still a very good young player. Bulls fans should be pleased.

3. TRUE or FALSE: Despite Thibodeau's defensive genius, Bulls need to improve their offensive creativity.
False. They have enough creativity in their pg to not worry too much about the overall system. There is designed creativity (spurs sets off of sets) and then improvised creativity (variations within a handful of sets). Besides, when it comes down to it, defense is much more important in the playoffs.

4. AGREE or DISAGREE: More Taj Gibson, Less Carlos Boozer.
meh. I was sold on Taj a couple of years ago. Now, I think hes grown into what he is. Boozer may be a below average defender, but his rebounding and offensive spacing/skillset probably offset that enough next to noah. I prefer to see taj as the main big off the bench still.

5. The one "X Factor" that can catapult the Bulls over the top East competitors is:
Bench play. They have at least three strong bench players in kirk, dunleavy and taj (with nazr still a solid backup center). The pacers would have beat the heat with an average bench unit. the spurs would have beat the heat with decent play from their main bench guy. That will be the key to beating the heat, taking advantage of the fatigue of their main players with better bench play.

1. TRUE or FALSE: Joakim Noah is more important to the Bulls success than Derrick Rose.
--False. Simply put: Noah may be more important to the Bulls to win 50+ games, but Rose is the player who will have to win them a championship. This collection of players in Chicago is at the point where it's about post-season success.

2. TRUE or FALSE: Jimmy Butler is THAT good.
--False. What the **** is that good? I think he can become a very good two-way NBA player, but I'm not sure I see an all-star in his future.

3. TRUE or FALSE: Despite Thibodeau's defensive genius, Bulls need to improve their offensive creativity.
--False. I think it's more personnel than scheme. Sure you can make average players look good on offense with the right system (see Popovich, Gregg), but you still need the right players to make it happen. Whomever drafts for Chicago clearly has a type because they are all very similar players. Probably the only player who doesn't "fit" with that schematic of a player is Boozer. Except instead of finding the median, they went on the entirely opposite end of the spectrum and stuck with defensive inept player. Letting Belli walk was a mistake, imo.

4. AGREE or DISAGREE: More Taj Gibson, Less Carlos Boozer.
--Agree. I'm honestly shocked Boozer hasn't been amnestied yet. For a team built and coached around defense, they are still starting one of the worst defensive players in the entire NBA. How does that make sense?

5. The one "X Factor" that can catapult the Bulls over the top East competitors is:
--Rose. This is like LeBron back in Cleveland, Jordan in the early year Bulls, or any other team with a single superstar player. It doesn't matter who you bring in (unless it's another star, of course), eventually your star player needs to be the star, the x factor, and all of the above.

Disagree. Boozer is finding his own (great last year), and I think he's very valuable as a second scoring option with the attention on Rose.

5. The one "X Factor" that can catapult the Bulls over the top East competitors is:

Derrick Rose. If he plays as well as he did in 2011 (when he was a top 2 PG and a top 5 offensive player in the entire league), it allows the rest of the players on the court to play to their talent/responsibilities, and not force shots.

1. TRUE or FALSE: Joakim Noah is more important to the Bulls success than Derrick Rose.
True and False. I believe he's equally as important as Rose. If Rose played all of last season and Noah did not play a single game, the results for the Bulls would probably have been the same - mid-rank seed, loss in 2nd round.

2. TRUE or FALSE: Jimmy Butler is THAT good.
False. But as embersyc said, jury is still out. He had a great playoff run. We'll see if that carries over to an 82-game season.

3. TRUE or FALSE: Despite Thibodeau's defensive genius, Bulls need to improve their offensive creativity.
False. They don't need to improve their offensive creativity. But improving their offensive flexibility or dynamism would exponentially help. They have some shooting around Rose now, perhaps a more dominant offensive post presence would help.

4. AGREE or DISAGREE: More Taj Gibson, Less Carlos Boozer.
Agree. In terms of minutes. I still think Taj is better as a spark plug off the bench. Boozer should still start, but shouldn't be finishing games.

5. The one "X Factor" that can catapult the Bulls over the top East competitors is:
Health. Not just Rose coming back healthy, but Noah being 100%, Deng being 100%, Hinrich being 100%, etc. If they can all stay healthy, they have a legit shot at making, possibly even winning, the Finals.